Man saved from trench offers his thanks

It was just the second day on the job for Kelly Vielle, 41, when he became trapped in an 8-foot trench last week.

“I guess I was naive, not knowing any better about going down there,” Vielle said Tuesday. “Every time I went down, I thought, ‘This thing is getting deeper and deeper, and that’s not good.’ But I never thought this would have happened to me.”

After the trench collapsed on top of Vielle last Wednesday, it took Seattle firefighters and Seattle Public Utilities workers two hours to rescue him.

Vielle ended up at Harborview Medical Center and spent the night, being released the next day with a badly bruised leg. He said he is still in pain and unable to work.

The ordeal left Vielle, a member of the Black Feet Nation tribe, thankful to be alive.

“I thank the Lord first and foremost, and I am truly grateful for the firefighters and rescuers,” he said. “I’m doing OK, and so I thank everyone in Seattle who sent prayers my way.”

Vielle may be thankful, but he’s also unable to work now, and so, he said, he plans to sue his employer, which he did not name for legal reasons.

“I feel like I need to be compensated,” he said. “This is all new for me, unfortunately, and fortunately, too, I guess.”